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Keisha Ta-Asan - The Philippine Star
February 6, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will review economic data in March before deciding on possible revisions to the country’s growth targets for 2025, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
“We’ll see, we’ll see. We don’t know yet, but we will have our next DBCC meeting in March,” Pangandaman told reporters when asked about the government’s ability to meet this year’s economic targets.
The country’s gross domestic product growth stood at 5.6 percent in 2024, falling short of the government’s six to 6.5 percent GDP goal.
The DBCC is targeting to grow the economy by six to eight percent this year.
Analysts have raised concerns that lingering external risks and tight monetary policy could weigh on this year’s growth outlook.
Pangandaman said the DBCC would assess several factors, including GDP performance, inflation and employment data.
She also noted that monetary policy decisions would play a key role in shaping the outlook.
“We already saw our GDP, inflation, but our employment is still very good. We’ll wait for the others. There’s a Monetary Board policy meeting soon. Once all the numbers are in, we’ll check what’s happening with our peers,” she said.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will have its first policy review on Feb. 13. The Monetary Board cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points in December 2024, bringing the key rate down to 5.75 percent.
When asked about the potential effects of US President Donald Trump’s return to office, Pangandaman said it was too early to determine the impact on the Philippine economy.
“As of now, it’s just pronouncements and policy reviews. We wait until we get their final agenda,” she said.
She also said that the US government’s temporary freeze on foreign aid, including those provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), could affect several projects in the Philippines.
“There are a lot of projects actually that are funded by USAID, among others, in collaboration with other development partners,” she said.
“But Trump’s administration said they will just review, give them a 30-day review of all the aid they provide. So let’s wait,” she added.
Among the key projects at risk, she noted, is a USAID-Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) initiative supporting maternal health and nutrition in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“We actually launched it during the Women, Peace and Security event last year. We’re just hopeful that after the review, they will still provide funding for projects like this,” Pangandaman said.
According to Pangandaman, the government has yet to determine whether it could step in to cover potential funding gaps.
“The aid given to us by the US and other development partners is significant. So, let’s see if we can (cover it),” she added.
